On any given day, a bored Ghanaian can simply turn on the television and be greeted by a variety of channels airing films, mostly Hollywood and Nollywood productions.
While the primary aim is to entertain and retain viewers, there may be a deeper and potentially unlawful aspect to this practice.
Recently, Nigerian actress and filmmaker Bimbo Ademoye publicly called out several Ghanaian television stations for airing her movies without permission.
In response, government officials such as Sam George, Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, and Kafui Danku-Pitcher, Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), pledged to take swift action.
However, not everyone agrees.
Ghanaian media personality and plus-size advocate Miz Debbie has argued that Ghanaian TV stations are actually helping to promote Bimbo’s work, stating that the actress should be grateful for the exposure.
This isn’t the first time such accusations have surfaced. Nigerian filmmaker Omoni Oboli has also raised similar concerns in the past.
Nigerian Filmaker Ruth Kadiri also made similar concerns in the past.
This raises a crucial question: Is airing movies, local or foreign, without permission actually illegal? Or, as some argue, is it simply free publicity for the filmmakers?
To clarify the legal implications, GhanaWeb exclusively spoke with Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer, Emmanuel Kantam Duut Esq., for expert analysis.
“It’s a total infringement of the copyright of the producers. It’s very clear. Before you can air someone’s movie, there are specific rules regarding the broadcasting of copyrighted works,” Duut said.
What the law actually says
According to Ghana’s Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690), television stations are legally required to obtain authorisation from copyright holders before airing any film, whether local or foreign.
Duut added, “Sections 5 and 6 of the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) provide for the Economic and Moral rights of owners of copyrighted works. A movie, when produced, falls within the category of audio-visual and literary works (movie script) captured under Section 1 of Act 690 as works protected under Copyright. The invocation of the economic rights and moral rights therefore necessitates the grant of permission from the owner before airing the movie and the acknowledgement of the authorship of the movie.”
Failure to do so constitutes copyright infringement and can result in both civil and criminal penalties.
Duut explained, “Especially once the person has expended resources in coming up with that movie, permission has to be sought before airing those movies because these television stations receive syndication royalties or retransmission royalties whenever the movie is streamed by viewers. The Legal name for the kind of royalties a movie producer is entitled to following such streams is known as Residuals or Broadcast License Payments. Hence, a Television Station needs a grant of a licence (permission) from a movie producer before airing the movie.”
“Anytime an individual screens (a film), they are expected to make some money out of it, especially with their social media pages. Now that these television stations even have social media pages and all of that, it constitutes a blatant disregard of the copyright of these movie producers.”
The role of the National Film Authority
The NFA, the statutory body responsible for regulating the Ghanaian film industry, has echoed these sentiments.
In a 2024 directive, the Authority reminded all terrestrial channels and media houses that films are protected works under Ghanaian copyright law.
It stated that Copyright owners hold exclusive rights to how their works are used and media houses must obtain licences or authorisation before airing such works.
“It is important to note that movies or films constitute protected copyright works under Ghanaian law, and as such, the creator/copyright owner of the movie or film holds exclusive rights to the usage of the movie or film.
“Accordingly, any terrestrial channel owner or media house that intends to broadcast/air a movie or film to its viewers must obtain the requisite authorisation or licence from the creator/copyright owner of the movie or film. Broadcasting/airing a movie or film without authorisation from the creator/copyright owner constitutes a copyright infringement, which attracts both civil and criminal liabilities,” a letter issued by the NFA in 2024 said.
The “Promotion” argument
One common defence by those accused of airing films without permission is the claim that they are “promoting” the filmmaker’s work.
But Duut strongly disagrees.
“It’s a very cheap way of buying your rights or your licence to air the movie,” Duut replied.
He said producers already have marketing budgets to promote their films through trailers and targeted platforms.
“The producers themselves have a marketing or a distributor who would be able to handle that. Most of these producers have their own distributors and marketers to promote their movies. They already have trailers or excerpts of the movie and air them on social media so that a lot of people will later come to watch the full movie on YouTube,” he stated.
Therefore, if a TV station genuinely intends to promote a movie, it should air trailers or excerpts, not the full film without proper authorisation.
Some key points from the NFA
In its 2024 directive, the National Film Authority (NFA) issued clear instructions to all terrestrial channel owners and media houses, asking them to:
“Conduct comprehensive assessments of all movies or films currently being broadcast on their platforms.
“Verify that the necessary authorisations or licences have been obtained from the respective copyright holders for each film.
“Immediately cease broadcasting any movie or film for which proper authorisation has not been secured until such authorisation is obtained.”
ID/EB
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